Pant Alteration

I need some general advice. When my daughter wears RTW pants, the butt part rides too low and she’s always showing plumber’s butt. It bothers me (from an aesthetic point of view– wow that was kind of punny), and it bothers her from a comfort point of view in that she constantly pulls them up in back. But if we pull up too high, a) it puts pressure on tender girly parts and b) never stays anyway.

I think this is b/c many pants in RTW are skinny pants.

However, even my O& S pants ride too low in the back, although not as bad. Her rise must be really long. With my O & S patterns the lack of rise is more noticeable as a lack of “ease” when she bends.

So, does anyone have a suggestion of how to lengthen the rise/give more in the seat in such a way that it doesn’t obstruct the pattern? It does not ride too low in the front.

You know, my little girl has the same issue. I thought it was just on pants that are too small for her, but now I’m starting to see it everywhere. I am thinking that yeah, it should be as simple as adding a little more room in the back, whether it’s needed in length or overall fullness. Of course, I’m really not a pant expert.

I would be tempted to add a wedge probably about 3″ below the top. I would slash the pattern from the

centre back seam to just before the seam allowances ( I wouldn’t cut into the seam allowance associated that would change the side seam) thereby leaving a hinge at the side seam. Slip some paper underneath the cut, rotate the top of the pants away from the bottom of the pants the amount you would like to increase the rise by ( Eg. 1″) and then tape the pattern to the paper underneath and redraw the side seams. There you have a new pattern piece with extra length in the centre back but the side seams still match.

I took a pair out that I made. I laid them out, so I could see how the construction with the yoke works, since i couldn’t remember. I lengthened the pant piece instead of the yoke. We shall see. I might have to muslin it, since I don’t want to waste my Amy Butler fabric on a big mistake! 😉

From a technical standpoint, all of these methods would work. But I’d advise against the method shown in the last link (Sew Liberated), which could really throw off everything about the trousers. Better to raise the center-back rise!